COST: $295/ year for a personal subscription; Included with tuition to UCMO :-)
PUBLICATION: CLCD, LLC
REVIEWERS: CLCD employs a staff of 125 librarians to review books. Also, they use a variety of international review sources, mainly from North America, both print and online. Many award, best book, and state reading lists.
UNIQUE: In addition to database access, subscribers receive access to several Reading Measurement Programs; H.W. Wilson's A Children's Catalog, Curriculum Tools software, and links to over 240,000 web pages featuring children's authors and illustrators. They also offer a free newsletter.
SCOPE: With over 4,000 unique book reviews and over 345,000 total archived reviews, this database covers all genres across the pre-K to 12th grade reading levels.
COST: Free, but you may donate to become a "Friend of of the CCBC"
PUBLICATION: School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
REVIEWERS: Librarians employed by the CCBC.
UNIQUE: In addition to their website, the CCBC also publishes booklists entitled CCBC Choices and Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults.
SCOPE: The CCBC is a study and research library that receives over 3,500 print volumes every year. Their catalog includes youth fiction and non-fiction, a historical collection, an alternative press collection, and graphic novels.
COST: $72/ yearly subscription to magazine (6 issues); $60/ TheHorn Book Guide (twice yearly)
PUBLICATION: The Horn Book, Inc. / Media Source, Inc.
REVIEWERS: Teachers, professors, and librarians from a variety of institutions. A list can be found here.
UNIQUE: In addition to their magazine, the publishers print a review guide twice a year and for $48/ year, subscriptions can be purchased for The Horn Book Guide Online, a database with over 80,000 reviews.
SCOPE: Children's and young adult fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and picture books.
COST: Memberrship is free (from what I have read), books may be purchased for as little as $5, with new hardcovers starting at $14.25.
PUBLICATION: The Junior Library Guild / Media Source, Inc.
REVIEWERS: The JLG employs its own editorial review staff, but also includes reviews from external publications, such as School Library Journal and The Horn Book Magazine.
UNIQUE: In addition to their reviews, the JLG offers cataloging and processing services at reasonable prices. They also offer 55 levels of collection development packages.
SCOPE: Fiction and nonfiction books in both English and Spanish, organized by level (elementary, middle, and high school) and available in both print and audiobook formats.
COST: Pricing dependent on library type, size, and products purchased; Included with tuition to UCMO :-)
PUBLICATION: EBSCO Industries, Inc.
REVIEWERS: Reviews are provided by publishers as abstracts and by external publications.
UNIQUE: Its classification system rates books on level of importance and popularity (Core, Supplemental, and Archival)
SCOPE: Over 3,500 titles are reviewed including genres such as Adventure, Biographical, Horror, Mystery, Superheroes, etc.
REFLECTION: My top three tools from this list would definitely have to be EBSCO Core Collections, Junior Library Guild, and Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. The Core Collection is easy to navigate and tells me precisely what I need to know about the books that I was searching for - price, abstract, and vitality to a collection. I truly appreciate that the Junior Library Guild provides a massive amount of free content, but is also a great place for building, cataloging, and processing a collection. The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database truly lives up to its name. As a numbers person, I was able to search for content by not only grade level, but also interest, lexile scores, etc. With 345,000 reviews archived, I am sure that almost any book I want will be available to review at a touch of the mouse.
Professional Selection Tools and Important Sources of Professional Development
COST: Website memberships are apparently free; LMC magazine costs $44/ year with use of a promotional code
PUBLICATION: Linworth Publishing
REVIEWERS: School librarians and authorities in the field of Library and Information Sciences
UNIQUE: This is one of the few sites that provides reviews for Spanish or bilingual editions of books.
SCOPE: Everything from audiobooks, print editions, comic books, and ebooks across all levels of youth literature.
REFLECTION: Besides book reviews, the main focus of the articles in the most recent edition (January/February 2014) of LMC magazine seem to be on the use of technology in the school library and study/research skills. Two articles about the use of iPads and webcasting really caught my attention. This great resource seemed to focus on every aspect of running a library, though, as it also contained articles on topics like collaboration and collection development. Perhaps most useful for my setting would be the article "School Libraries and the Urban Learner" by Vonita W. Foster.
COST: $89/ year for print edition; $131/ year for print and online access
PUBLICATION: School Library Journals; Media Source, Inc.
REVIEWERS: School librarians, educators, and students.
UNIQUE: Articles entitled "Teens Review..." that really illustrate the focus of our youth and help to better manage collections.
SCOPE: This site reviews not only print materials, but also audio, video, and web-based resources.
REFLECTION: There were two primary focuses in the articles that I read on SLJ's website - Common Core and the challenges facing school libraries today. The editors seemed very concerns about issues such as budget cuts and censorship, which effect all school librarians, but the majority of articles seemed to deal with how to align libraries with the goals of Common Core and how to increase family awareness of these goals.
REVIEWERS: David Loertscher and Betty Marcoux are the chief editors, but content is submitted through professionals in the field of school librarianship.
UNIQUE: A large assortment of posters are available for downloading and printing.
SCOPE: In addition to professional materials, TL also reviews children and young adult literature, videos, and computer software
REFLECTION: The content that I accessed on this site mainly profiled the literature available for librarians' professional development. Additionally, I noticed a large focus on the Learning Commons model, as there was an entire section and three articles dedicated to this topic. This would definitely allow me to help transform our current library into a more progressive and inventive space in which students could collaborate and create.
REVIEWERS: Corporate editors employed by Barnes & Noble, publisher's abstracts, and reviews from sources such as Booklist and TheNew York Times
UNIQUE: The Nook is an alternative to more costly iPads or the Amazon Kindle.
SCOPE: B & N provides books from the pre-K to adult levels, magazines, newspaper subscriptions through the Nook, movies, textbooks, toys, games, and more.
REVIEWERS: Reviews come from external sources, such as those listed in the Professional Selection Tools
UNIQUE: BTSB claims to be the "world's foremost prebinder of juvenile books," providing a cheaper alternative to purchasing hardcover copies and a more durable option to paperbacks.
SCOPE: Over 20,000 titles of children's and young adult literature.
UNIQUE: The inventors of the Plasti-Kleer book jacket.
SCOPE: Brodart provides fiction and nonfiction books in the areas of children's and young adult literature in both English and Spanish. The company also offers cataloging, processing, and reinforcement services. The Bibz Online Selection and Ordering tool seems like a great way to order books and manage a collection.
REVIEWERS: Full-text reviews from a variety of sources, including those listed above and others such as CriticasandKirkus
UNIQUE: The Titlewave iPhone App allows librarians to manage and improve their collections from anywhere.
SCOPE: Early childhood to adult books available. The company also offers Audiovisual materials, software, and other digital resources. Cataloging, processing, and shelving services are also available.
REFLECTION: While I use Barnes & Noble to supply my personal content, I would most likely choose to use Brodart as an ordering tool if I were to have a choice. I was able to browse the site easily and see that their pricing is affordable when compared to trade costs and they seem to offer as many services as the other companies. I was truly impressed by their online selection software as it seemed both easy-to-use and logical as a way of managing a library collection. Additionally, as a current Spanish teacher in a school that serves as our district's ELL hub, I was happy to see that they offer a large selection of books in the Spanish language.
REVIEWERS: Many librarians, cartoonists, freelancers, and students.
UNIQUE: The site's primary editor offers classes and workshops on the topics of graphic novels and young adult literature.
SCOPE: This site reviews comic books and graphic novels for children, teens, and adults.
REFLECTION: I would have no objection to using any of these tools as a selection tool. Unfortunately, the most well-funded (FREE), was also the most difficult to navigate and seemed to be the least useful as a selection tool. I especially enjoy reading through the various librarian blogs that are available on the internet, especially since their reviews seem to be less aimed at selling a book and more focused on the actual quality of writing and content. The only thing that must be acknowledged is that everyone's opinion differs, so you cannot be turned off to a site due to a disagreement with only one review.
Review Comparison
Using the JCKL library's Academic Search Complete, I was able to find three different reviews on my favorite book as a child, Ender's Game. Interestingly, all reviews were done for the audiobook version of the book, published in 2008, Reviews by Horn Book Magazine and School Library Journal contained a synopsis of the book and also commentary on the quality of recording and vocal acting within the audiobook. The Booklist review focused solely on the actors' abilities to tell the story. While the story is what grips me while reading, the readers' performances for an audiobook are vitally important. There may be nothing worse than a great book being read poorly. I would definitely find the information in these three reviews important if I were considering adding this resource to my collection. Were I left with the impression that the audio downgraded the quality of the book, I would only want the print version for my collection. My preference as a future librarian would have to be the School Library Journal review, which also mentioned awards won by the book and author. Such a review would lend credibility to the book when recommending it to a more finicky teen reader. If only I could find a reviewer of the film who agrees with me (it should have been longer, but most people can't sit through a movie that would encompass all that was left out - I'm not most people).
Professional Selection Tools
Booklist http://www.booklistonline.com
Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database http://www.clcd.com/
Cooperative Children's Book Center http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/
Horn Book Magazine http://www.hbook.com/
Junior Library Guild https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/
Publishers Weekly http://www.publishersweekly.com/
VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) http://www.voyamagazine.com/
Graphic Novels Core Collection http://library.ucmo.edu/
REFLECTION: My top three tools from this list would definitely have to be EBSCO Core Collections, Junior Library Guild, and Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. The Core Collection is easy to navigate and tells me precisely what I need to know about the books that I was searching for - price, abstract, and vitality to a collection. I truly appreciate that the Junior Library Guild provides a massive amount of free content, but is also a great place for building, cataloging, and processing a collection. The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database truly lives up to its name. As a numbers person, I was able to search for content by not only grade level, but also interest, lexile scores, etc. With 345,000 reviews archived, I am sure that almost any book I want will be available to review at a touch of the mouse.
Professional Selection Tools and Important Sources of Professional Development
Library Media Connection http://www.librarymediaconnection.com/
School Library Journal http://www.slj.com/
Teacher Librarian http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/
Ordering Tools
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Bound to Stay Bound http://www.btsb.com/
Brodart http://www.brodartbooks.com/
Follett's Titlewave http://www.flr.follett.com/
REFLECTION: While I use Barnes & Noble to supply my personal content, I would most likely choose to use Brodart as an ordering tool if I were to have a choice. I was able to browse the site easily and see that their pricing is affordable when compared to trade costs and they seem to offer as many services as the other companies. I was truly impressed by their online selection software as it seemed both easy-to-use and logical as a way of managing a library collection. Additionally, as a current Spanish teacher in a school that serves as our district's ELL hub, I was happy to see that they offer a large selection of books in the Spanish language.
Free Tools From the Web
Bookfinder http://www.bookfinder.com/
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) http://free.ed.gov/
Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists http://www.readingrants.org/
YALSA Best Books Lists http://www.ala.org/yalsa/bookawards/booklists/members
Green Bean Teen Queen http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/
Ms. Yingling Reads http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/
No Flying No Tights http://noflyingnotights.com/
REFLECTION: I would have no objection to using any of these tools as a selection tool. Unfortunately, the most well-funded (FREE), was also the most difficult to navigate and seemed to be the least useful as a selection tool. I especially enjoy reading through the various librarian blogs that are available on the internet, especially since their reviews seem to be less aimed at selling a book and more focused on the actual quality of writing and content. The only thing that must be acknowledged is that everyone's opinion differs, so you cannot be turned off to a site due to a disagreement with only one review.
Review Comparison
Using the JCKL library's Academic Search Complete, I was able to find three different reviews on my favorite book as a child, Ender's Game. Interestingly, all reviews were done for the audiobook version of the book, published in 2008, Reviews by Horn Book Magazine and School Library Journal contained a synopsis of the book and also commentary on the quality of recording and vocal acting within the audiobook. The Booklist review focused solely on the actors' abilities to tell the story. While the story is what grips me while reading, the readers' performances for an audiobook are vitally important. There may be nothing worse than a great book being read poorly. I would definitely find the information in these three reviews important if I were considering adding this resource to my collection. Were I left with the impression that the audio downgraded the quality of the book, I would only want the print version for my collection. My preference as a future librarian would have to be the School Library Journal review, which also mentioned awards won by the book and author. Such a review would lend credibility to the book when recommending it to a more finicky teen reader. If only I could find a reviewer of the film who agrees with me (it should have been longer, but most people can't sit through a movie that would encompass all that was left out - I'm not most people).
Works Cited
Melgaard, Tricia. "Ender's Game." School Library Journal 54.12 (2008): 70. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
Moyer, Jessica. "Ender's Game." Booklist 105.12 (2009): 100. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
M. V., P. "Ender's Game." Horn Book Magazine 84.6 (2008): 727. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.